a 20 minute tour

Our trusty canoe came with a tiny crack that developed into a fairly severe crack over the time that we have had it. Dave has tried numerous ways to patch it and they would work for a time, but the sun and air dry the patches out and they stop holding. While he has been off this week, Dave decided to fix the crack once and for all and he did so by learning to weld plastic. It took a few tries, but finally on Friday he had a patch that he was sure would hold water, so we headed over to VanEtten lake to test it out.

 

I fed Hank and packed some snacks so we could stay out in the canoe for a while if we wanted to. 

Jed brought along his trusty paddle and we all got suited up in our life jackets. Except Hank. Lest you think that we are completely neglectful parents, we own an infant life jacket and we even put it on him. But it strangles the life out of him--it's meant for an older baby, I'm pretty sure, since only we are insane enough to take an almost-three-week-old baby canoeing--and he screamed like we were killing him. We figured it would be better to let him ride in comfort and stay close to shore in case we tipped rather than strangle him.

 

We all got in the canoe and paddled along for about 20 minutes before Hank decided the rocking of the boat wasn't for him. Jed loves the canoe and especially his paddle because he can drag it in the water and splash us. Dave and I were just happy to be out of the house and on the water.

This picture totally cracks me up--Dave is so thrilled to be canoeing, Jed is completely absorbed in what he's interested in and Hank is screaming for all he's worth. We headed in to shore after this so I could feed Hank, who enjoyed another alfresco meal.

 It was a nice night, despite the clouds and the green scum on the water. There was a nice little breeze, the geese were honking and we were the only boat on the lake. After they dropped Hank and I off, Dave and Jed headed back out to paddle around some more. I had a good time watching them and imagining many more such trips as Jed gets older. After about 10 more minutes, they headed back to shore and then made a quick run for the bathroom. I will let you guess who had to potty.

There is a fun little playground on the beach and after they got done in the potty, Jed drug Dave over to the "airplane" and made him ride for a while.

 Jed is so in love with that "airplane." I think the boy will be a pilot. He is obsessed with planes lately and has been begging me to buy a plane. Even after Nana bought him a small plane, he still asks me about buying a plane. I told him "Nana bought you your red plane and you have a blue plane. Do you need another plane?" He told me "a BIG plane!" I asked if he meant a real plane like what is by our house and he said "Yes! a BIG plane!"

 After I got done feeding Hank and he fell asleep, Dave loaded the canoe back on the truck and we went to get Jed, since he refused to leave the plane. He wanted me to ride the plane with him for a while, so I obliged him. Please ignore the insane look on my face. We were doing "cheesers."

Since there wasn't enough room for Dave on the plane too, he rode this gate thing. It was on a slope and when you get on at the high point and lean forward, it spins you around for a wild ride. When Jed let me off the plane, I tried going for a ride. It was pretty fun but I am horribly uncoordinated and it bucked me off on my second go-round.

It was such a nice night and I am really glad we went to the effort to get out and paddle around, even if it was only for 20 minutes. We need to do those little things more often because that is where we make good funny memories.

And Dave's patch job holds! So now we can go on longer trips--provided we can get Hank accustomed to the feel of the canoe floating in the water.